Heat Shielding Container Assembly

ABSTRACT

A heat shielding container assembly for protecting electronic devices, medications, and cosmetics includes a shell that defines an interior space. The shell is insulated. A cut extends circumferentially around and through a sidewall of the shell to define a lid and a box. The lid is selectively couplable to the box so that the lid is positioned to be separated from the box to insert an article into the interior space. The lid also is positioned to be coupled to the box to seal the article within the shell. The shell is configured to protect the article from damage when the ambient temperature is elevated to a level that would damage the article.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM.

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The disclosure and prior art relate to container assemblies and more particularly pertain to a new container assembly for protecting electronic devices, medications, and cosmetics.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a shell that defines an interior space. The shell is insulated. A cut extends circumferentially around and through a sidewall of the shell to define a lid and a box. The lid is selectively couplable to the box so that the lid is positioned to be separated from the box to insert an article into the interior space. The lid also is positioned to be coupled to the box to seal the article within the shell. The shell is configured to protect the article from damage when the ambient temperature is elevated to a level that would damage the article.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric perspective view of a heat shielding container assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 7 thereof, a new container assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7, the heat shielding container assembly 10 generally comprises a shell 12 that defines an interior space 14. The shell 12 is insulated. The shell 12 comprises an inner layer 16, an outer layer 18, and a medial layer 20, as shown in FIG. 3. The inner layer 16 and the outer layer 18 may comprise plastic, or other rigid material, such as, but not limited to metal and the like. The inner layer 16 and the outer layer 18 may comprise polypropylene, or other thermoplastic polymer, such as, but not limited to, polypropylene, polybenzimidazole, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, and the like. The medial layer 20 comprises rigid foamed elastomer, such as, but not limited to, expanded polystyrene, polyurethane, polyisocyanurate, and the like, so that the medial layer 20 is insulative.

The shell 12 is substantially rectangularly box shaped. The shell 12 has corner edges 22 that are rounded. The shell 12 has external dimensions 24 of from 2.0 to 20.0 centimeters of length, from 2.5 to 10.0 centimeters of width, and from 5.0 to 15.0 centimeters of height. The shell 12 comprises a set of shells 12, as shown in FIG. 1. Each shell 12 of the set of shells 12 is sized such that the interior space 14 of the shell 12 is complementary to a respective article.

The set of shells 12 comprises a first shell 26, a second shell 28, a third shell 30, a fourth shell 32, and a fifth shell 34, each of which has an interior space 14 that is sized complementarily to a laptop computer, as shown in FIG. 5, a gaming station, as shown in FIG. 6, a tablet computer, as shown in FIG. 4, a medication container, as shown in FIG. 7, and a lipstick type tube, as shown in FIG. 2, respectively.

A cut 36 extends circumferentially around and through a sidewall 38 of the shell 12, proximate to a top 40 of the shell 12, to define a lid 42 and a box 44. The lid 42 is selectively couplable to the box 44 so that the lid 42 is positioned to be separated from the box 44 to insert an article, such as, but not limited to, a cosmetic, a medication container, and an electronic device, into the interior space 14. The lid 42 also is positioned to be coupled to the box 44 to seal the article within the shell 12. The shell 12 is configured to protect the article from damage when the ambient temperature is elevated to a level that would damage the article. The assembly 10 is anticipated to be particularly useful to a user who leaves cosmetics, medication containers, and electronic devices in a vehicle on a warm day when the ambient temperature inside the vehicle can reach a level that will damage cosmetics, medications, and electronic devices.

A closure 46 is coupled to the box 44 and is selectively couplable to the lid 42 so that the closure 46 is positioned to removably couple the lid 42 to the box 44. The closure 46 may comprise a first recess 48 that extends into the lid 42 from an inner perimeter 50 of the lid 42 to define a first ridge 52, as shown in FIG. 3. A second recess 54 extends into the box 44 from an outer perimeter 56 of the box 44 to define a second ridge 58. The second ridge 58 is positioned to be inserted into the first recess 48, concurrently with the first ridge 52 being inserted into the second recess 54, to frictionally couple the lid 42 to the box 44. The closure 46 also may comprise other closing means, such as, but not limited to, zippers, hook and loop fasteners, latch buckles, and the like.

In use, the article, such as the cosmetic, the medication container, and the electronic device is positioned in the interior space 14. The lid 42 is coupled to the box 44 to seal the article within the shell 12. The shell 12 thus is configured to protect the article from damage when the ambient temperature is elevated to a level that would damage the article.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

I claim:
 1. A heat shielding container assembly comprising: a shell defining an interior space, the shell being insulated; and a cut extending circumferentially around and through a sidewall of the shell defining a lid and a box, the lid being selectively couplable to the box such that the lid is positioned for separating from the box for inserting an article into the interior space and for coupling to the box for sealing the article within the shell wherein the shell is configured for protecting the article from damage when the ambient temperature is elevated to a level that would damage the article.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, further including the shell comprising an inner layer, an outer layer, and a medial layer, the inner layer and the outer layer comprising plastic, the medial layer comprising rigid foamed elastomer such that the medial layer is insulative.
 3. The assembly of claim 3, further including the inner layer and the outer layer comprising polypropylene.
 4. The assembly of claim 3, further including the medial layer comprising at least one of expanded polystyrene, polyurethane, and polyisocyanurate.
 5. The assembly of claim 1, further including the shell being substantially rectangularly box shaped.
 6. The assembly of claim 5, further including the shell having corner edges, the corner edges being rounded.
 7. The assembly of claim 5, further including the shell having external dimensions of from 2.0 to 20.0 centimeters of length, from 2.5 to 10.0 centimeters of width, and from 5.0 to 15.0 centimeters of height.
 8. The assembly of claim 7, further including the shell comprising a set of shells, each shell being sized such that the interior space of the shell is complementary to a respective article.
 9. The assembly of claim 8, further including the set of shells comprising: a first shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a laptop computer; a second shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a gaming station; a third shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a tablet computer; a fourth shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a medication container; and a fifth shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a lipstick type tube.
 10. The assembly of claim 1, further including the cut being positioned proximate to a top of the shell.
 11. The assembly of claim 1, further including a closure coupled to the box and selectively couplable to the lid such that the closure is positioned for removably coupling the lid to the box.
 12. The assembly of claim 11, further including the closure comprising: a first recess extending into the lid from an inner perimeter of the lid defining a first ridge; and a second recess extending into the box from an outer perimeter of the box defining a second ridge such that the second ridge is positioned for inserting into the first recess concurrently with the first ridge being inserted into the second recess for frictionally coupling the lid to the box.
 13. A heat shielding container assembly comprising: a shell defining an interior space, the shell being insulated, the shell comprising an inner layer, an outer layer, and a medial layer, the inner layer and the outer layer comprising plastic, the inner layer and the outer layer comprising polypropylene, the medial layer comprising rigid foamed elastomer such that the medial layer is insulative, the medial layer comprising at least one of expanded polystyrene, polyurethane, and polyisocyanurate, the shell being substantially rectangularly box shaped, the shell having corner edges, the corner edges being rounded, the shell having external dimensions of from 2.0 to 20.0 centimeters of length, from 2.5 to 10.0 centimeters of width, and from 5.0 to 15.0 centimeters of height, the shell comprising a set of shells, each shell being sized such that the interior space of the shell is complementary to a respective article, the set of shells comprising: a first shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a laptop computer, a second shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a gaming station, a third shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a tablet computer, a fourth shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a medication container, and a fifth shell having an interior space sized complementarily to a lipstick type tube; a cut extending circumferentially around and through a sidewall of the shell defining a lid and a box, the lid being selectively couplable to the box such that the lid is positioned for separating from the box for inserting an article into the interior space and for coupling to the box for sealing the article within the shell wherein the shell is configured for protecting the article from damage when the ambient temperature is elevated to a level that would damage the article, the cut being positioned proximate to a top of the shell; and a closure coupled to the box and selectively couplable to the lid such that the closure is positioned for removably coupling the lid to the box, the closure comprising: a first recess extending into the lid from an inner perimeter of the lid defining a first ridge, and a second recess extending into the box from an outer perimeter of the box defining a second ridge such that the second ridge is positioned for inserting into the first recess concurrently with the first ridge being inserted into the second recess for frictionally coupling the lid to the box. 